Dr. Shireen Kassam

Shireen is a Consultant Haematologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College Hospital, London with a specialist interest in the treatment of patients with lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system). She is also passionate about promoting plant-based nutrition for the prevention and reversal of chronic diseases and for maintaining optimal health after treatment for cancer.

She qualified as a medical doctor in 2000, initially training in general medicine, and gaining Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP; 2003). She then specialised in Haematology and achieved Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath; 2008). During training, she took time out to undertake a PhD (University of London, 2011). Her research investigated the role of selenium, an essential micronutrient, in sensitising cancer cells to chemotherapy. She was able to show that supra-nutritional doses of selenium could enhance the action of chemotherapy in the laboratory. She has published a number of peer-reviewed papers in the field of lymphoma.

Shireen discovered the power of nutrition for the prevention and treatment of disease in 2013 and since then has been following a whole food plant-based diet. She has immersed herself in the science of nutrition and health, reading scientific papers and books, attending nutrition conferences and completing recognised continuing professional development activities to keep up to date in the field. She has completed the eCornell certification in plant-based nutrition. With her medical and scientific training, Shireen is uniquely placed to interpret nutritional data and incorporate the latest findings into daily medical practice.

Shireen founded Plant-based health professionals UK in 2017 (pbhp.uk), a non-profit organisation whose mission is to educate health professionals and the general public on healthy plant-based nutrition for disease prevention and reversal. Since then she has been appointed as Visiting Professor of Plant-Based Nutrition at Winchester University with the aim of producing high quality educational material and courses. She is also a member of the Research Advisory Committee for the Vegan Society in the UK.

Timetable

Saturday2:00pm

Panel: Barriers to adopting a whole food plant-based diet and how to overcome them

This is your opportunity to come and ask those burning questions about plant-based diets to a multi-professional panel of doctors, dietitians and ‘patients’ who have successfully transitioned to a whole food plant-based diet. We will discuss personal and societal barriers to adopting this diet pattern and how to overcome them.

What does diet and lifestyle have to do with cancer? (BSL Interpretation available)

Cancer is not inevitable. More than 40% of cases could be prevented through diet and lifestyle. Come and listen to Dr Kassam to find out how to reduce your risk of getting cancer or if you have had cancer, how to reduce the chances of it coming back.

Panel: Barriers to adopting a whole food plant-based diet and how to overcome them

This is your opportunity to come and ask those burning questions about plant-based diets to a multi-professional panel of doctors, dietitians and ‘patients’ who have successfully transitioned to a whole food plant-based diet. We will discuss personal and societal barriers to adopting this diet pattern and how to overcome them.